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Three Recipes for Tasty Ice Cream Toppings

April Freeman
We have included three recipes for different ice cream toppings in our post today: Hot Fudge Sauce, Caramel Sauce, and Peanut Butter Sauce. Whatever flavor you prefer, one of these ice cream toppings will be just right for you.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Cuisine American
Servings 40 Servings

Equipment

  • Double Boiler
  • Large Glass Bowl
  • Saucepan
  • Wire whisk
  • Glass Jar with Tight Lid

Ingredients
  

Hot Fudge Sauce Ingredients

  • 14 ounces Canned Sweetened Condensed Milk
  • 12 ounces Bagged Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
  • 4 tbsp Butter
  • 3 tbsp Strong Brewed Coffee
  • 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Caramel Sauce Ingredients

  • 1 cup Packed Light Brown Sugar
  • ½ cup Heavy Whipping Cream
  • ¼ cup Unsalted Butter half a stick
  • teaspoon Salt
  • 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract

Peanut Butter Sauce Ingredients

  • ½ cup Smooth Peanut Butter
  • ½ cup Heavy Cream
  • 2 tbsp Light Corn Syrup
  • ¼ cup Packed Light brown Sugar

Instructions
 

Hot Fudge Sauce Instructions

  • Add the sweetened condensed milk, the chocolate chips, the butter, and the coffee to the top of a double boiler. If you don’t have a double boiler, set a large glass bowl over the top of a saucepan full of simmering water. Stir the mixture until the chocolate chips melt and the sauce is smooth.
    The condensed milk and chocolate area mixed in a glass bowl over a saucepan.
  • With a whisk, stir in the vanilla extract. Store the hot fudge sauce in a glass jar with a tightly fitting lid for up to two weeks in the fridge.
    The hot fudge sauce is placed in a jar with a tight lid.
  • To reheat, remove the jar lid and microwave it for 25 seconds. Stir the sauce with a spoon and return it to the microwave for another 30 seconds, stirring it afterward. Spoon it over vanilla ice cream. 

Caramel Sauce Instructions

  • In a medium-sized saucepan, stir together the brown sugar, butter, salt, and heavy cream. Whisk these together and put it on the stove over medium heat.
    The caramel ingredients are mixed in a saucepan.
  • Stir the mixture constantly and cook it for about 5 to 7 minutes until it is thick and gooey.
    This is a caramel mixture that is boiling in the saucepan.
  • Remove the caramel sauce from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Let the sauce cool a bit and then pour the sauce into a jar for storage. Put the lid on the sauce and store it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. 
    The caramel sauce is placed in a jar with tight lid.
  • You can reheat the sauce by microwaving the jar with the lid removed for 30 seconds. Stir the caramel and heat it for an additional 10 to 15 seconds. 

Peanut Butter Sauce Instructions

  • In a small saucepan, stir together the peanut butter, the heavy cream, and the brown sugar.
    The peanut butter sauce ingredients are placed in a saucepan.
  • Heat the mixture over low heat, stirring until smooth and the ingredients are blended. The sauce will get a bit thick. This should take less than 5 minutes. 
  • Do not overcook the sauce, or it will get gloppy. If it gets too thick, add a little water. Remove the sauce from the heat and let it cool a bit. 
  • Serve over ice cream or store in a jar with a tightly fitting lid in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Reheat in the microwave for about 30 seconds, stir it, and then return to the microwave for another 10 to 15 seconds.
    Ice cream servings with three various toppings.

Notes

While National Hot Fudge Sundae Day is July 25, having an ice cream sundae is something that is delicious any time of the year. Although the classic ice cream sundae features warm fudge sauce, people make sundaes with a wide variety of toppings. 
Food historians believe that the first hot fudge sundaes were created way back in 1906. Clarence Clifton Brown owned C. C. Brown’s Ice Cream Shop in Los Angeles, California. He tinkered with recipes for a hot fudge sauce until he came up with one that worked.
It was thick, rich, and fudgy, the warmth of the sauce contrasting with the coldness of the ice cream. It was served in tall, fluted containers so that the fudge sauce could run down the sides of the ice cream scoops. 
So why are these desserts called sundaes? One theory is that the dessert was invented in the days that laws restricted the sales of alcohol on Sundays. The restrictions extended to soda water served at ice cream counters as well.
This meant that no ice cream sodas were permitted on Sundays either. The ice cream sundae was a popular menu item on Sundays because it fit within the Sunday restrictions. No one is sure, but perhaps that is how the ice cream sundae earned its name!
If you are searching for a dessert theme for a dinner party, you just can’t go wrong with offering guests an ice cream sundae bar. This allows every person to customize their own desserts, making a creation that will be perfect for each individual. Along with our recipes for ice cream toppings, you can offer a selection of other things to make the sundaes complete. 
As a base, you might want to add a selection of different kinds of cookies. Chocolate chip or peanut butter cookies are tasty, or you can bake some brownies. Guests can scoop ice cream on top of their sweets.
Then, they can choose what kind of sauce to add to their creation. Finally, you may want to offer toppings to finish off their sundaes. Chopped nuts of any kind are a traditional way to create a sundae.
However, you might want to offer chopped candy bars, sprinkles, and chocolate, peanut butter, or white chocolate chips. Finally, add in a dish of maraschino cherries because, of course, no sundae is complete without the cherry on top.
Keyword Dessert, Recipe, Three Tasty Ice Cream Toppings

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